Romans in the Netherlands
Encyclopedia
55 BC
Year 55 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Pompey...
to around 410 AD, the southern part of the Netherlands was integrated into the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. During this time the Romans in the Netherlands had an enormous influence on the lives and culture of the people who lived in the Netherlands at the time and (indirectly) on the generations that followed.
Early History
During the Gallic WarsGallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
, the area south and west of the Rhine was conquered by Roman forces under Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in a series of campaigns from 57 BC
57 BC
Year 57 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Metellus...
to 53 BC
53 BC
Year 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus...
. The approximately 450 years of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
rule that followed would profoundly change the Netherlands.
Starting about 15 BC
15 BC
Year 15 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, the Rhine in the Netherlands came to be defended by the Lower Limes Germanicus
Limes Germanicus
The Limes Germanicus was a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from the years 83 to about 260 AD...
. After a series of military actions, the Rhine became fixed around 12 AD as Rome's northern frontier on the European mainland. A number of towns and developments would arise along this line.
The area to the south would be integrated into the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. At first part of Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...
, this area became part of the province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
. The tribes already within, or relocated to, this area became part of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
The area to the north of the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii
Frisii
The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Zuiderzee and the River Ems. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period the Frisii and the related Chauci, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland...
and the Chauci
Chauci
The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial hills called terpen, built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide...
, remained outside Roman rule but not its presence and control. The Frisii were initially "won over" by Drusus
Drusus
Drusus was a cognomen in Ancient Rome originating with the Livii. Under the Republic, it was the intellectual property and diagnostic of the Livii Drusi. Under the empire and owing to the influence of an empress, Livia Drusilla, the name was used for a branch of the Claudii into which she had...
, suggesting a Roman suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
was imposed by Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
on the coastal areas nort of the Rhine river. Over the course of time the Frisii would provide Roman auxiliaries through treaty obligations, but the tribe would also fight the Romans in concert with other Germanic tribes (finally, in 296 AD the Frisii were relocated in Flanders and disappeared from recorded history).
Batavians
About 38 BC38 BC
Year 38 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
a pro-Roman faction of the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
(a Germanic tribe located east of the Rhine) was settled by Agrippa in an area south of the Rhine, now thought to be the Betuwe
Betuwe
The Betuwe is an area in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland...
area. They took on the name of the people already living there—the Batavians
Batavians
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the...
.
Batavians
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the...
even served in the Roman cavalry
Ala (Roman military)
An Ala was the term used during the mid- Roman Republic to denote a military formation composed of conscripts from the socii, Rome's Italian military allies. A normal consular army during this period consisted of 2 legions, composed of Roman citizens only, and 2 allied alae...
. Batavian culture was influenced by the Roman one, resulting among other things in Roman-style temples such as the one in Elst
Elst (Overbetuwe)
Elst is a town in the municipality of Overbetuwe in the Dutch province of Gelderland. Elst is situated in the Betuwe, between the cities of Nijmegen and Arnhem. Elst has 19,743 inhabitants....
, dedicated to local gods. Also the trade flourished: the salt used in the Roman empire was won from the North Sea and remains are found across the whole Roman empire.
However, this did not prevent the Batavian rebellion
Batavian rebellion
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavians and other tribes in the province and in Gaul...
of 69 AD, a very successful revolt under the leadership of Batavian Gaius Julius Civilis
Gaius Julius Civilis
Gaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69. By his nomen, it can be told that he was made a Roman citizen by either Augustus or Caligula....
. Forty castella were burnt down because the Romans violated the rights of the Batavian leaders by taking young Batavians as their slaves.
Other Roman soldiers (like those in Xanten
Xanten
Xanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel.Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park or archaeological open air museum , its medieval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for...
and the auxiliary troops of Batavians and Caninefatae from the legions of Vitellius
Vitellius
Vitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
) joined the revolt, which split the northern part of the Roman army. April 70 AD, Vespasianus sent a few legions to stop the revolt. Their commander, Petilius Cerialis, eventually defeated the Batavians and started negotiations with Julius Civilis on his home ground, somewhere between the Waal and the Maas
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
near Noviomagus (Nijmegen) or—as the Batavians probably called it—Batavodurum.
Franks
In the third century started to appear in Roman Netherlands the Franks, a warrior germanic tribe. Their attacks happened in a time period with a catastrofic sea invasion of the area.Frankish identity emerged at the first half of the 3rd century out of various earlier, smaller Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
groups, including the Salii
Salian Franks
The Salian Franks or Salii were a subgroup of the early Franks who originally had been living north of the limes in the area above the Rhine. The Merovingian kings responsible for the conquest of Gaul were Salians. From the 3rd century on, the Salian Franks appear in the historical records as...
, Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
, Chamavi
Chamavi
The Chamavi were a Germanic tribe of Late Antiquity and the European Dark Age. They first appear under that name in the 1st century AD Germania of Tacitus as a Germanic tribe that, for most of their history, existed along the North bank of the Lower Rhine in the region today called Hamaland after...
, Bructeri
Bructeri
The Bructeri were a Germanic tribe located in northwestern Germany , between the Lippe and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia around 100 BC through 350 AD....
, Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, Chattuarii
Chattuarii
The Chattuarii or Attoarii were a Germanic tribe of the Franks. They lived originally east of the northern Rhine and west of the Chatti. Their land was south of the Bructeri. Some of them settled in the pagus attuariorum south of Langres in the 3rd century...
, Ampsivarii
Ampsivarii
The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari , were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors....
, Tencteri, Ubii
Ubii
thumb|right|350px|The Ubii around AD 30The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the right bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river...
, Batavi
Batavians
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands, "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the...
and the Tungri
Tungri
The Tungri were a tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the Belgic part Gaul, during the times of the Roman empire. They were described by Tacitus as being the same people who were first called "Germani" , meaning that all other tribes who were later referred to this way, including those in...
, who inhabited the lower and middle Rhine valley between the Zuyder Zee and the river Lahn
Lahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
and extended eastwards as far as the Weser, but were the most densely settled around the IJssel
IJssel
River IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel...
and between the Lippe
Lippe River
The Lippe is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length.The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg Forest in Bad Lippspringe close to the city of Paderborn. It runs westward through Paderborn, Lippstadt and then along the northern edge...
and the Sieg. The Frankish confederation probably began to coalesce in the 210s.
Franks appear in Roman texts as both allies and enemies (laeti
Laeti
Laeti, the plural form of laetus, was a term used in the late Roman Empire to denote communities of barbari permitted to, and granted land to, settle on imperial territory on condition that they provide recruits for the Roman military...
or dediticii). Around 310 AD the Franks had the region of the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
river (present day west Flanders and southwest Netherlands) under control, and were raiding the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, disrupting transportation to Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. Roman forces pacified the region, but did not expel the Franks, who continued to be feared as pirates along the shores at least until the time of Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
(358), when Salian Franks were granted to settle as foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
in Toxandria
Toxandria
Toxandria is the classical name for a region between the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers in the Netherlands and Belgium. The name is also spelled Taxandria...
, according to Ammianus Marcellinus.
At the beginning of the fifth century the Franks became the most important ethnic group in the region, just before the end of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
.
Roman settlements in the Netherlands
Romans built military forts along the Limes GermanicusLimes Germanicus
The Limes Germanicus was a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from the years 83 to about 260 AD...
and a number of towns and smaller settlements in the Netherlands. The more notable towns were:
- Nijmegen (Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum)
- VoorburgVoorburgVoorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality in the western part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. As also Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has approximately 39,000 inhabitants....
(Forum HadrianiForum HadrianiForum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...
)
Perhaps the most evocative is the mysterious Brittenburg
Brittenburg
The Brittenburg, or Lugdunum Batavorum, is a Roman ruin west of Leiden that was visible on the beach between Katwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk aan Zee after storms in the years of 1520, 1552 and 1562...
, which emerged out of the sand at the beach in Katwijk several centuries ago, only to be buried again. These ruins were part of Lugdunum Batavorum
Brittenburg
The Brittenburg, or Lugdunum Batavorum, is a Roman ruin west of Leiden that was visible on the beach between Katwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk aan Zee after storms in the years of 1520, 1552 and 1562...
.
Other Roman settlements, fortifications, temples and other structures have been found at Alphen aan de Rijn (Albaniana); Bodegraven
Bodegraven
Bodegraven is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of 38.50 km² of which 1.02 km² is water....
; Cuijk
Cuijk
Cuijk is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands of pre-historic origin. Its existence is recorded on the Roman roadmap Tabula Peutingeriana under the name of Ceuclum. Cuijk is twinned with Maldon in Essex, UK. It is a big commuter town with very good public transport services to...
; Elst, Overbetuwe; Ermelo
Ermelo
Ermelo is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland in the Veluwe area with a population of over 26.000.-Etymology:...
; Esch; Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
; Houten
Houten
Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The expected population in 2015 will be 50,000. The municipality consists of the following towns:* Houten * 't Goy * Schalkwijk...
; Kessel, North Brabant; Oss
Oss
Oss is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands, in the province of Noord Brabant.- Population centres :-Transportation:* Railway stations: Oss, Oss West, Ravenstein- The city of Oss :...
, i.e. De Lithse Ham near Maren-Kessel; Kesteren in Neder-Betuwe
Neder-Betuwe
Neder-Betuwe is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands.-Geography:The municipal boundaries are for a large part defined by the river Waal to the south, the river Rhine to the North and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the west...
; Leiden (Matilo); Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
; Meinerswijk (now part of Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
); Tiel
Tiel
' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
; Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
(Traiectum); Valkenburg (South Holland)
Valkenburg (South Holland)
Valkenburg is a village and former municipality in the province of South Holland, in thewestern Netherlands. Valkenburg is now part of the municipality Katwijk....
(Praetorium Agrippinae); Vechten (Fectio
Fectio
Fectio was a Roman castellum in the province Germania Inferior established in the year 4 or 5 AD. It was located at the place where the river Vecht branched off from the Rhine, leading to Lake Flevo, which was later to become the Zuiderzee...
) now part of Bunnik
Bunnik
Bunnik is a municipality and a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The recorded history of the village dates back nearly 2000 years, when the Romans constructed a fort at Fectio with a harbour facing the river Rhine, which marked the border of the Roman Empire...
; Velsen
Velsen
Velsen is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal.On the north side of the North Sea Canal, in IJmuiden, there is a major steel plant, Corus Strip Products IJmuiden, formerly known as Koninklijke Hoogovens...
; Vleuten
Vleuten
Vleuten is a former village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 6 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with De Meern, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern. Vleuten has a railway station on the line between Utrecht and Woerden.In...
; Wijk bij Duurstede
Wijk bij Duurstede
- The city of Wijk bij Duurstede :The city is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede....
(Levefanum); Woerden
Woerden
Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...
(Laurium or Laurum); and Zwammerdam
Zwammerdam
Zwammerdam is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn.In 2001, the town of Zwammerdam had 1709 inhabitants...
(Nigrum Pullum).
Map of Romans in the Netherlands
The exact location of the shifting coastline in Roman times is unknown.Roman forts in the Nederland (squares on the map)
- Flevum (at modern VelsenVelsenVelsen is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal.On the north side of the North Sea Canal, in IJmuiden, there is a major steel plant, Corus Strip Products IJmuiden, formerly known as Koninklijke Hoogovens...
) A harbour has been found here as well. - Lugdunum Batavorum (BrittenburgBrittenburgThe Brittenburg, or Lugdunum Batavorum, is a Roman ruin west of Leiden that was visible on the beach between Katwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk aan Zee after storms in the years of 1520, 1552 and 1562...
at modern Katwijk aan ZeeKatwijk aan ZeeKatwijk aan Zee is a seaside resort located on the North Sea at the mouth of the Oude Rijn. It is situated in the municipality of Katwijk and the province of South Holland.- History :...
) - Praetorium Agrippinae (at modern ValkenburgValkenburg (South Holland)Valkenburg is a village and former municipality in the province of South Holland, in thewestern Netherlands. Valkenburg is now part of the municipality Katwijk....
) - Matilo (in the modern Roomburg area of Leiden)
- Albaniana (at modern Alphen aan den RijnAlphen aan den RijnAlphen aan den Rijn is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, between Leiden and Utrecht. The town is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn , where the river Gouwe branches off. The municipality had a population of 72,674 in 2010, and covers an...
) - fort of an unknown name (near BodegravenBodegravenBodegraven is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of 38.50 km² of which 1.02 km² is water....
) - Laurium (at modern WoerdenWoerdenWoerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...
) - a fort perhaps called Fletio (at modern VleutenVleutenVleuten is a former village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 6 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with De Meern, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern. Vleuten has a railway station on the line between Utrecht and Woerden.In...
) - Traiectum (in modern UtrechtUtrechtUtrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
) - FectioFectioFectio was a Roman castellum in the province Germania Inferior established in the year 4 or 5 AD. It was located at the place where the river Vecht branched off from the Rhine, leading to Lake Flevo, which was later to become the Zuiderzee...
(Vechten) - Levefanum (at modern Wijk bij DuurstedeWijk bij Duurstede- The city of Wijk bij Duurstede :The city is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede....
) - Carvo (at modern Kesteren in Neder-BetuweNeder-BetuweNeder-Betuwe is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands.-Geography:The municipal boundaries are for a large part defined by the river Waal to the south, the river Rhine to the North and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the west...
) - fort of an unknown name at (Meinerswijk)
- NoviomagusNoviomagusNoviomagus is a superficially Latinized Celtic placename containing the Celtic words noviios "new" and magos "field", "plain", then "market" '...
(in modern (Nijmegen)
Towns in the Netherlands (triangles on the map)
A) Forum HadrianiForum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...
, a.k.a. Aellium Cananefatum (modern Voorburg
Voorburg
Voorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality in the western part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. As also Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has approximately 39,000 inhabitants....
)
B) Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum, a.k.a. Colonia Ulpia Noviomagus, (modern Nijmegen)
C) Batavorum (in modern Nijmegen)
D) Colonia Ulpia Trajana (in modern Xanten
Xanten
Xanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel.Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park or archaeological open air museum , its medieval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for...
, Germany)
E) Coriovallum (in modern Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
)
Settlements or posts (circles on the map)
F) Nigrum Pullum (modern ZwammerdamZwammerdam
Zwammerdam is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn.In 2001, the town of Zwammerdam had 1709 inhabitants...
)
G) settlement of an unknown name on the Leidsche Rijn
Leidsche Rijn
Leidsche Rijn is a neighbourhood under construction west of Utrecht in the central Netherlands. The neighbourhood is expected to be completed in 2025 and will have approximately 80,000 inhabitants....
H) Haltna (modern Houten
Houten
Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The expected population in 2015 will be 50,000. The municipality consists of the following towns:* Houten * 't Goy * Schalkwijk...
)
I) settlement of an unknown name (modern Ermelo
Ermelo
Ermelo is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland in the Veluwe area with a population of over 26.000.-Etymology:...
)
J) settlement of an unkonwn name (modern Tiel
Tiel
' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
)
K) Roman temples (modern Elst, Overbetuwe)
L) Temple possibly devoted to Hercules Magusannus (modern Kessel, North Brabant)
M) Temple (at an area called ‘’De lithse Ham’’ near Maren-Kessel, now part of Oss
Oss
Oss is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands, in the province of Noord Brabant.- Population centres :-Transportation:* Railway stations: Oss, Oss West, Ravenstein- The city of Oss :...
)
N) Ceuclum (modern Cuijk
Cuijk
Cuijk is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands of pre-historic origin. Its existence is recorded on the Roman roadmap Tabula Peutingeriana under the name of Ceuclum. Cuijk is twinned with Maldon in Essex, UK. It is a big commuter town with very good public transport services to...
)
O) unknown (modern Esch)
P) Trajectum ad Mosam, also known as Mosae Trajectum, (modern Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
)
Not marked on the map: a possible fort in modern Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
See also
- Germania InferiorGermania InferiorGermania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
- Gallia BelgicaGallia BelgicaGallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...
- Batavi (Germanic tribe)
- Revolt of the Batavi
- FrisiiFrisiiThe Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Zuiderzee and the River Ems. In the Germanic pre-Migration Period the Frisii and the related Chauci, Saxons, and Angles inhabited the Continental European coast from the Zuyder Zee to south Jutland...
- Limes GermanicusLimes GermanicusThe Limes Germanicus was a line of frontier fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes from the years 83 to about 260 AD...
- LaetiLaetiLaeti, the plural form of laetus, was a term used in the late Roman Empire to denote communities of barbari permitted to, and granted land to, settle on imperial territory on condition that they provide recruits for the Roman military...
- Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
- FectioFectioFectio was a Roman castellum in the province Germania Inferior established in the year 4 or 5 AD. It was located at the place where the river Vecht branched off from the Rhine, leading to Lake Flevo, which was later to become the Zuiderzee...